Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #7 UConn on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 73
/
Final
Men's Basketball
72
vs #7 UConn
73
Tyler Thornton's Big Night
1/12/2011 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – Maryland's 2010 visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium was a turning point for a Blue Devil team that was searching for its identity.
That was the night when senior Brian Zoubek moved into the starting lineup and coach Mike Krzyzewski committed to a half-court tempo that eventually led the Blue Devils to the national championship.
Maryland's most recent visit Sunday night also saw an important development for a still-developing team as little-used freshman Tyler Thornton came off the bench in the second half and demonstrated to Coach K, the Cameron Crazies and to the basketball world that he can be a major contributor for a Duke team trying to find a new identity in the absence of injured playmaker Kyrie Irving.
“Tyler brought great energy tonight,” senior Nolan Smith said after the game. “We wouldn't have won if Tyler didn't come in and do what he did.”
Thornton, a 6-1 point guard from Washington's (D.C.) Gonzaga High, entered the game with 17:23 to play and Duke trailing 38-32.
Maryland wouldn't score for the next five minutes as Duke embarked on an 11-0 run. Thornton had just two points during that spurt, but he also had two steals and took a charge from Maryland guard Pe-Shon Howard. He finished the game with two points and four steals in 12 minutes in Duke's 71-64 victory.
But Thornton's contribution went beyond numbers.
“Anyone who watched the game last night could see everything that Tyler Thornton did,” Krzyzewski said. “He gave us energy when there was none. We were getting beat and he gave us a boost, defensively and offensively. He had four steals and took two charges in 12 minutes of play. That's an exceptional performance for anybody, but especially somebody who hadn't been playing much.”
Indeed, Thornton didn't get off the bench in Duke's ACC opener against Miami. He was averaging less than eight minutes in the 12 games he had played. He also failed to get off the bench against Michigan State and played less than a minute in close wins over Marquette and Butler. He was not a part of the team's regular rotation.
But the young guard was not discouraged by his struggle to find playing time on a team loaded with talented guards.
“There was no frustration,” Thornton said. “I was constantly working in practice and getting extra work afterwards. I just wanted the opportunity and I knew that it would come.”
That chance finally came against the Terps. By chance, it came on a night when he had a large family contingent in the stands, including his mother, his aunt and several cousins.
“Coach really emphasized that he really wanted me to pressure the ball,” Thornton said. “I didn't want to allow the other point guard to set up and run the offense. I just wanted to take advantage of the moment and bring a lot of energy. The adrenaline was pumping when I got in, but I just came in and played my game.”
His teammates were impressed by his play.
“Tyler was big for us tonight,” senior Kyle Singler said following the win. “His on-the-ball defense was huge. He just brought a spark to our team in the second half. And I thought when he came up with that defensive rebound toward the end of the game, it was one of the biggest plays of the game.”
Singler was talking about a play under the Maryland basket when Thornton took the ball away from the Terps' big man Jordan Williams. Duke was up 63-56 with just over four minutes left when Cliff Tucker missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner.
“Jordan rebounded and he brought it down in my area,” Thornton said. “He was focused on getting it back up against Miles and Kyle. He brought it down in my face and I ripped it out.”
Thornton's presence had another subtle impact on the game. With Irving out, he is the only true point guard on the roster – although Smith and Seth Curry are combo guards who can play that position. When the freshman entered the game against Maryland, it allowed Smith to slide to the two guard spot.
“Coach was saying he's going to start to try that more – put me off the ball so I can get even more aggressive from the wing position, and Tyler can just do what he does,” Smith said. “Defensively he's terrific. He can really speed up another team's offense.”
No one should be surprised that Thornton is making a contribution. He was a prized prospect at Gonzaga High, where he was named the D.C. player of the year last season – beating out, among others, UNC's McDonald's All-American Kendall Marshall.
Thornton was never a big scorer, but he established himself as a fearsome defender and a leader who would do whatever it takes to win.
“He's a point guard in the truest sense,” said Gonzaga coach Steve Turner. “He does it all. He leads the ship for us and runs things. He's our No. 1 defensive player. To me, he's a coach on the floor. He doesn't need to score points. Every time he's been challenged – every time somebody says, 'He doesn't do this' – he does it.”
Krzyzewski saw the same qualities. That's why he made Thornton an early recruiting target.
“He comes from a great high school program and great AAU program,” Coach K told the media after the game. “Basically I've liked Tyler for over three years because I just thought that Tyler is very mature. He's an older, young guy and he just been in a lot of tough games before. What he did [against Maryland] obviously opens our eyes. That's what we are looking for; we're looking for things like that. We have a lot of improvement that can happen for us so his maturity level really helped. He was a difference maker. I mean how would you predict that? Probably one of you did that but I'm not as smart as that. It's one of the really neat things that happens in coaching.”
Thornton proved his maturity – and his unselfishness – even before he stepped on campus, working diligently to help Duke recruit Irving, an ultra-talented playmaker whose presence was going to make it tougher for Thornton to see playing time.
“I'm not a selfish person,” Thornton said before the season. “I'm glad Kyrie decided to join us because he's a great player and that's going to make us that much better. It's going to make me better, playing against him, Seth [Curry] and Andre [Dawkins] in practice every day. It's going to lift my game. I appreciate him coming.”
Now that Irving is sidelined indefinitely, Thornton is working to thrust himself into the playing rotation in his absence.
“Hopefully, Tyler can continue to help us,” Krzyzewski said. “That's what we need to do – keep finding players as we develop our team.”
Thornton believes that defense is his way to help the Devils.
“Basically, Coach [Steve Wojciechowski] and Coach Nate [James] told me that my calling card is going to be at the defensive end,” Thornton said. “I have to get into people. I have to be disciplined, move my feet. If I could lock people down and contain them, that's my ticket to the floor.
“I would say that my strongest point is my defending – my anticipation on the ball and off the ball,” he said. “That's been one of my strengths since day one. I'm improving my shooting and my ballhandling all the time because guards need to have those things to get playing time so that Coach can trust you with his offense on the floor.”
A year ago, Zoubek's homecourt performance against Maryland proved to be the start of a historic season-ending stretch run from the previously overlooked big man. Could Thornton's play against the Terps signal another career breakthrough?
“I feel like the coaches noticed the way I played and I'll get more opportunities in the future,” he said.
The Blue Devils can only hope that Thornton's emergence against the Terps in Cameron has a similar impact to Zoubek's coming out party a year ago.
That was the night when senior Brian Zoubek moved into the starting lineup and coach Mike Krzyzewski committed to a half-court tempo that eventually led the Blue Devils to the national championship.
Maryland's most recent visit Sunday night also saw an important development for a still-developing team as little-used freshman Tyler Thornton came off the bench in the second half and demonstrated to Coach K, the Cameron Crazies and to the basketball world that he can be a major contributor for a Duke team trying to find a new identity in the absence of injured playmaker Kyrie Irving.
“Tyler brought great energy tonight,” senior Nolan Smith said after the game. “We wouldn't have won if Tyler didn't come in and do what he did.”
Thornton, a 6-1 point guard from Washington's (D.C.) Gonzaga High, entered the game with 17:23 to play and Duke trailing 38-32.
Maryland wouldn't score for the next five minutes as Duke embarked on an 11-0 run. Thornton had just two points during that spurt, but he also had two steals and took a charge from Maryland guard Pe-Shon Howard. He finished the game with two points and four steals in 12 minutes in Duke's 71-64 victory.
But Thornton's contribution went beyond numbers.
“Anyone who watched the game last night could see everything that Tyler Thornton did,” Krzyzewski said. “He gave us energy when there was none. We were getting beat and he gave us a boost, defensively and offensively. He had four steals and took two charges in 12 minutes of play. That's an exceptional performance for anybody, but especially somebody who hadn't been playing much.”
Indeed, Thornton didn't get off the bench in Duke's ACC opener against Miami. He was averaging less than eight minutes in the 12 games he had played. He also failed to get off the bench against Michigan State and played less than a minute in close wins over Marquette and Butler. He was not a part of the team's regular rotation.
But the young guard was not discouraged by his struggle to find playing time on a team loaded with talented guards.
“There was no frustration,” Thornton said. “I was constantly working in practice and getting extra work afterwards. I just wanted the opportunity and I knew that it would come.”
That chance finally came against the Terps. By chance, it came on a night when he had a large family contingent in the stands, including his mother, his aunt and several cousins.
“Coach really emphasized that he really wanted me to pressure the ball,” Thornton said. “I didn't want to allow the other point guard to set up and run the offense. I just wanted to take advantage of the moment and bring a lot of energy. The adrenaline was pumping when I got in, but I just came in and played my game.”
His teammates were impressed by his play.
“Tyler was big for us tonight,” senior Kyle Singler said following the win. “His on-the-ball defense was huge. He just brought a spark to our team in the second half. And I thought when he came up with that defensive rebound toward the end of the game, it was one of the biggest plays of the game.”
Singler was talking about a play under the Maryland basket when Thornton took the ball away from the Terps' big man Jordan Williams. Duke was up 63-56 with just over four minutes left when Cliff Tucker missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner.
“Jordan rebounded and he brought it down in my area,” Thornton said. “He was focused on getting it back up against Miles and Kyle. He brought it down in my face and I ripped it out.”
Thornton's presence had another subtle impact on the game. With Irving out, he is the only true point guard on the roster – although Smith and Seth Curry are combo guards who can play that position. When the freshman entered the game against Maryland, it allowed Smith to slide to the two guard spot.
“Coach was saying he's going to start to try that more – put me off the ball so I can get even more aggressive from the wing position, and Tyler can just do what he does,” Smith said. “Defensively he's terrific. He can really speed up another team's offense.”
No one should be surprised that Thornton is making a contribution. He was a prized prospect at Gonzaga High, where he was named the D.C. player of the year last season – beating out, among others, UNC's McDonald's All-American Kendall Marshall.
Thornton was never a big scorer, but he established himself as a fearsome defender and a leader who would do whatever it takes to win.
“He's a point guard in the truest sense,” said Gonzaga coach Steve Turner. “He does it all. He leads the ship for us and runs things. He's our No. 1 defensive player. To me, he's a coach on the floor. He doesn't need to score points. Every time he's been challenged – every time somebody says, 'He doesn't do this' – he does it.”
Krzyzewski saw the same qualities. That's why he made Thornton an early recruiting target.
“He comes from a great high school program and great AAU program,” Coach K told the media after the game. “Basically I've liked Tyler for over three years because I just thought that Tyler is very mature. He's an older, young guy and he just been in a lot of tough games before. What he did [against Maryland] obviously opens our eyes. That's what we are looking for; we're looking for things like that. We have a lot of improvement that can happen for us so his maturity level really helped. He was a difference maker. I mean how would you predict that? Probably one of you did that but I'm not as smart as that. It's one of the really neat things that happens in coaching.”
Thornton proved his maturity – and his unselfishness – even before he stepped on campus, working diligently to help Duke recruit Irving, an ultra-talented playmaker whose presence was going to make it tougher for Thornton to see playing time.
“I'm not a selfish person,” Thornton said before the season. “I'm glad Kyrie decided to join us because he's a great player and that's going to make us that much better. It's going to make me better, playing against him, Seth [Curry] and Andre [Dawkins] in practice every day. It's going to lift my game. I appreciate him coming.”
Now that Irving is sidelined indefinitely, Thornton is working to thrust himself into the playing rotation in his absence.
“Hopefully, Tyler can continue to help us,” Krzyzewski said. “That's what we need to do – keep finding players as we develop our team.”
Thornton believes that defense is his way to help the Devils.
“Basically, Coach [Steve Wojciechowski] and Coach Nate [James] told me that my calling card is going to be at the defensive end,” Thornton said. “I have to get into people. I have to be disciplined, move my feet. If I could lock people down and contain them, that's my ticket to the floor.
“I would say that my strongest point is my defending – my anticipation on the ball and off the ball,” he said. “That's been one of my strengths since day one. I'm improving my shooting and my ballhandling all the time because guards need to have those things to get playing time so that Coach can trust you with his offense on the floor.”
A year ago, Zoubek's homecourt performance against Maryland proved to be the start of a historic season-ending stretch run from the previously overlooked big man. Could Thornton's play against the Terps signal another career breakthrough?
“I feel like the coaches noticed the way I played and I'll get more opportunities in the future,” he said.
The Blue Devils can only hope that Thornton's emergence against the Terps in Cameron has a similar impact to Zoubek's coming out party a year ago.
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